Dunnage: Why It's Important to Your Business

Team
2021-08-10

Introduction:

Dunnage is an important term in the shipping and freight industry. What dunnage means, how dunnage can help your business, and why dunnage is so vital to a company's success are all questions that will be answered in this blog post. Dunnage refers to any type of material used for packing or padding during shipping. The dunnages primary function is to protect cargo from damage while it travels on the waterway via boat or rail car. Dunnage can also save you money by reducing the number of items returned due to breakages!

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What is Dunnage?

Dunnage is a shipping and freight term that refers to any material used for cushioning. dunnage materials can be anything from kraft paper, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, wood chips or other packing materials. Dunnage could also include larger materials to secure cargo such air pillows placed around breakables loaded on trucks or in a shipping container!

Dunnage has many purposes; it serves as protection for things during transit by acting as a shock absorber on fragile items - dunnaging helps protect cargo from damage during the handling process buy filling empty space by serving as a gap filler. This helps to prevent heavy items or pallets from falling against another. Dunnage materials help to reduce vibration on high value products such as heavy machinery during transport.

cargo container lot
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Why Is Dunnage Important?

Dunnage is an important component of shipping for high value commodities. dunnage can help to protect packages from being damaged, while reducing breakages and other issues that may occur during shipping. Dunnage will help prevent damage to any product that you ship by adding in shock absorption from collisions or rough handling during the shipping and handling process. This means dunnage also reduces your item loss and returns costs because you are less likely to lose products due to mishandling when they are properly dunned up.

To ensure dunnage creates a safe environment where goods won't fall out of boxes during transport, dunnage should be placed at the bottom of crates, boxes or shipping containers. Dunnage can also make it easier to load heavy items on pallets. Dunnage material can be used as a buffer or to create barriers between boxes or frames that are stacked on top of each other, to ensure they don't topple over. dunnage will also prevent items from shifting and make it easier for the shipping company to load your goods onto a truck, by keeping them in place. Damage protection dunnage will help to prevent any breakages or damage that may occur, while reducing the chances of items falling out from their shipping box.

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How To Use Dunnage To Ship Sensitive Items?

Dunnage is an important part of shipping because they are packaging components used inside a truck or container to protect them from breakage. It also prevents any shifting that may occur during transportation.

When loading, dunnage should be placed around and under sensitive equipment so that fragile products are not placed on top of one another or against sharp pieces or hard surfaces which can cause damage to fragile parts such as glass screens, keyboards, buttons, circuit boards and other electronic components. 

Dunnage bags or corrugated paper is often placed on either side of sensitive itmes, such as medical equipment or an expensive glass vase, and then as much crinkle paper or other common dunnage materials should should be used to fill up any missing space between your items or the walls of a size appropriate box.

Now that all packages and cargo is ready for transportation. It's important to protect items properly before loading them up onto a truck or container so they don't shift around inside the vehicle and get damaged. Make sure that they're adequately wrapped in a protective covering such as pallet wrap, bubble wrap, or foam sheeting before being loaded onto the truck or other vehicles. Air pillows and other custom dunnage options can help with shock absorption and help to support packages and cardboard boxes by filling in empty spaces created when objects shift during transit to various warehouse locations or sorting facilities on the way to their final destination.

If dunnages are air-filled, be sure to place them in an area where there is plenty of room for the dunnage bags to expand as needed, this will ensure their long life!

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What Are The Benefits Of Using Dunnage?

Dunnage is important to any shipping business. It’s what keeps your cargo stable and protected from breakage from bumps and drops. Dunnage can be anything from bubble wrap to old sheets or towels, but it can make the difference between a breakable item arriving in one piece or getting damaged. dunnage can also be anything that is used to protect your cargo during a transport. dunnage has many purposes and can be found in any warehouse or shipping center worth its salt, but it’s dunnage that can save your business time and money if dunnage is used properly.

Dunnage can also cushion any impacts from accidents while driving. This makes packaging material extra important for items that need protection like glass screens on cell phones or laptops! In the shipping industry this is especially true during high value shipping. Make sure you include the right dunnage when packing your products so they're protected throughout transit. That way it'll arrive at its destination in one piece!

Finally dunnage material comes in many different shapes, sizes and thicknesses depending on what you're needing dunnage for. Everything from kraft paper to large custom floor dunnage solutions designed by industrial packaging technicians. You can find custom dunnage solutions to secure a load made of various materials from heavy duty plastic bracing to non-woven fabrics. The best types of dunnage are the ones that suit your specific packaging and shipping needs!

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Types Of Dunnage

There are a variety of materials by dunnage providers. The most common dunnages found in an industrial setting are made of wood, plastic and metal. 

- Wood is often used in creating dunnage options that will be reused over the long term because it has better insulation properties than other types of material but is also heavier to ship around on trucks or cargo containers. It can't withstand much compression so it isn’t suitable for storing heavy loads which would crush under their own weight like coal, salt or concrete blocks. 

Plastic is light weight and can be easily compressed. It's also cheaper than other types of dunnages because it does not require as much material to cover a certain amount of space.

Metal has the best insulation quality but is also heavy, doesn't compress well and can be expensive to ship around on trucks or cargo containers. Metals often requiring high tech construction are often used for items with long term storage needs like salt, coal or concrete blocks.

Dunnage works for much more than just shipping containers and FTL shipping. It is often used to protect parcels as well. Kraft paper, foam, and bubble wrap are just a few of the commonly used packaging components within small parcels. When packaging even low risk parcel shipments it is important to limit damage to packages especially if you are using a large box that may require corrugated paper or foam that forms inside to the shape of the contents to limit movement and shock. There are all different materials that are used within packages and some even help to absorb moisture or liquids.

man riding a yellow forklift with boxes
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Where Can You Find Dunnage?

Every warehouse, construction site, and storage facility has different types of dunnage used for different purposes. For example, the type you need to stack pallets on a deck will not work well inside a building if it is full of boxes or heavy machinery. Below are some common places that might store your needed dunnage: 

-Construction Site 

-Warehouse 

-Storage Facility 

If none of those locations have what you’re looking for then head over to your local hardware store which usually carries high grade materials such as sheet metal or plywood. You can also find smaller pieces like bags and blocks at any home improvement center near you! You can even reuse recycled paper or air bags or foam from shipments you may have ordered in the past . With these tips in mind hopefully finding the right material will be easier for you!

men walking in a warehouse
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Conclusion:

Dunnage is an important term in the shipping and freight industry. It refers to any type of material used for packing or padding during transportation, typically via boat or rail car, with its primary function being to protect cargo from damage while it travels on waterway. But that’s not why dunnage has become such a vital part of so many businesses today! The truth is, dunnage can be used for any size parcel and can save you money by reducing the number of items returned due to breakages--think about how much time and effort would be saved if all your products arrived intact! So what are some creative ways you have come up with when using dunnage in your business? 

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